Bottle-washing machine.



1 J. T. H. PAUL.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

21111011211011 FILED MAY18,1911.

Patented Nbv. 4, 1913.

6 SHEETSSHEET 1.

J. T. H. PAUL.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18,1911.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

5 SHEETSSHEET 2.

J. T. H. PAUL.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APYLIOATION FILED MAY18,1.911.

Patented N V. 4., 1913.

5 SHBETg 3 J. T. H. PAUL.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1911.

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5 SHBETS=SHEET$L ,J. T. H. PAUL. BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE,

APPLICATION FILED 11m 18, 1911. 1,077,636, Patented Nov.4, 1913. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. H. PAUL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN'OR- TO E. GOLDMAN & C0,, INC., OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BOTTLE-WASHING MACHINE.

To asZZeohom it may chncer-n:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. H. PAUL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a newv and useful Improvement in Bottle-\Vashing Machines, of which the following is specification.

The object of the present invention is to improve, in matters of'detail, the bottle washing machine which forms the subject of my pending application for Letters Patent, Serial No.- 579,.l70, filed August 29, 1910, to the end of increasing the efiiciency of that machine.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view, in the nature of a diagram, ofv the apparatus in side elevation presenting one side thereof; Fi 2 is a view in elevation of the opposite side; Fig, 3 is an enlarged section approximately on line 3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4. is an enlarged broken view showing a strainer device in section; Fi 5 is a sectional view through the strainer on line 5, Fig. at; Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the shield-equipped pipe for spraying the label-removing screens; Fig. 7 is a broken plan view of a set of the bottlespraying pipes on their support showing means on their distal ends for relatively adjusting them; Fig. 8 is a broken view showing an enlarged plan section through'the adjusting means on the opposite end of the set of spraying-pipes; Fig. 9 is an enlarged section on line 9, Fig. 7 Fig. 10 is an enlarged section on line 10, Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a broken plan view, with the hood, sprayingpipes and shielding-plates removed, showing two of the three sectional label-removing screens and attendant mechanism; Fig. 12 is a face view of the large loose gear-wheel through the medium of which the endless-chain bottle-carrier is intermittently driven; Fig. 13 is an enlarged inner-face view of the socket-containing crank-arm which forms one member. of a device for adjusting the carrier-chains to compensate for stretching thereof and correct resultant imperfect registration of the bottles with the spray-pipe nozzles; Fig. It

is a section on line lat, Fig. 12, showing the entire adjusting device, and Fig. 15 is an enlarged broken plan view showing the manner of connecting a sectional label-removing screen-with its endless actuating-chains.

Aside from the features hereinafter de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 18, 1911.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

Serial No. 628,037.

scribed constituting my present improve- I ments, the construction of the machine is substantially the same as set forth in my said former application, andmay therefore be generally described as follows:

The tank for containing the supply of cleansing water is supported ona suitable frame, and is shown to be formed of a series of four compartments separated by spaces 16, formed by partitions for carryingofl the overflow through depending pipes 17 discharging through a pipe 18 to a sewer. The washing-water in three of the compartments is kept at desired different temperatures bthe admission of steam into them controled by suitable thermostatic mechanism represented as a whole at 19 in Fig. 2, as is common practice in machines of the present and analogous classes; and for filling and emptying the compartments, valved pipes 20 depend from their bottoms and are connected with a' horizontal pipe 21 equipped with an inlet-controlling valve 22 for the supply and a discharge-controlling valve A hood 24: extends lengthwise over the tan and a track is provided above and below the tank for the travel upon it of a conveyor comprising a pair of endless chains, indicated at 25, on sprockets 26 and connected at intervals by sets of transverse series of holders, indicated in Fig. 3, for supporting bottles to be washed in inverted position. For circulating the water from the tank back into it by discharging the water upwardly through jet-pipes at the compartments, a motor 27 isprovided hav ing its shaft 28 common to four centrifugal. pumps 29 taking their supply from ,the lower parts of the respective compartments throughpipes 30.21110. returning it thereto through uprightpipes 81. The upper end ofeach pipe 31 is connected at 32 (Fig. 7) with a manifold 8,3, that adjacent to the last tank-compartment containing the'clear or hydrant water for finally rinsing the bottles, being provided with. a partition 34 (Fig. 8) forming in one end of the manifold a chamber to which a supply-pipe 34 leads from a supply (not shown) of hydrantwater; From each manifold extend in parallel relation to each other across a compartment, pipes 35 forming a set with longitudinal series of jets projecting upwardly from them, thepipes being supported on a frame 36 surmounting the respective compartnient; and the manifold is formed of justed by manipulating the couplings of a manifold 33; and means hereinafter described for that purpose from one of the present improvements, illustrated in detail in Fig. 9: The closed ends of these pipes, which are supported on a frame 36, carry similar heads 37 provided with transverse alining openings in their upper ends forming bearings for a shaft 38, which is rotatably confined in an intermediate head by collars 39, 39 embracing it, adjacent to one of which the shaft carries a hexagonal flange 40 for the application of a wrench. There the shafts works in the heads immediately flanking the one in which'it is thus confined,

'it .is provided with similar relatively-fine screw-threads 41 engaging like threads in thebearings; the second-removed threaded sections 4901? the shaft are alike and relatively coarser, to engage like threads in the respective bearin s, and the end-section of the shaft is provided with a still coarser thread 43 to engage a like thread in its bearings. The reations of the different threads are such tha when, by turning the shaft, the threads 41 shift the heads 37 containing them and theends of the respective jetpipes a certain distance toward or from each other, depending on the direction of turning, the threads 42 will correspondingly shift the heads and pipes they control twice that distance and the thread 43 will similarly shift the head and pipe controlled by it twice the distance of the heads actuated by the threads 42, thereby to maintain the same relation between those ends of the pipes in each adjustment thereof, which is made to correspond with each adjustment of the sectional manifold 33'.

The conveyer 25 is actuated intermittently by a shaft 44 (Figs. 1 and 11} carrying on oneend a Worm-wheel ,45, with which meshes a Worm 46 carrying a relativelylarge gear-wheel 47 on one end and a smaller gear-wheel 48 on its opposite end,

to mesh, respectively, with a relatively-small pinion 49 and a larger pinion 5O spaced apart on a shaft 51, which is suitably journaled in bearings on the tank and connected at a pulley 52 on one end by a belt 53 with a pulley '54 on the motor-shaft 28, which thus drives the worm 46. The pinions 49 and are shiftably supportedpn the shaft 51 and are respectively engaged by fingers 55 and 56 extending from a rod 57 supported in hearings to adapt it to be moved longitudinally through the medium of hand lever to vary the speed of the conveyer. The shaft 44 also carries, adjacent to the wormwlzeel, the stud-member of a Geneva-drive 59, the star-wheel member of which is 1 0211 naled on a stub-shaft 60 carrying a pinion 61 to mesh with a gear-wheel 62, which is loosely mounted on a shaft 63 that carries a pair of the sprockets 26 for actuating the chains of the conveyor 25. From a spoke of this gear-wheel extends outwardly a fin- 64 forming one member of a chainedjusting device (Figs. 13 and 14), the other member of which is a crank-arm 65 keyed at its hub to the shaft and provided with a socket-section 66, into which the linger projects between set-screws 67 working in the opposite sides of the socket-section.

In the event of the chains of the conveyer 25 stretching under the strains to which it is subjected, or of shortening thereof, the intermittent movements of the con veyer by the action of the Geneva gear will fail to register the sets of inverted bottles, in their holders connecting the chains, properly with the jets of the series of sets of jet-pipes below the upper portion of the conveyer path. Any inaccuracy in this regard may be readily corrected, without interrupting the operation of the machine, by loosening one of the set-screws 67 and turning the other against the finger 64 to suitably turn the wheel 62 and thereby shift the conveyerchains forward or backward to the extent reuired for eifectinmre uired accurac in 1 the registration.

As in the machine of my aforesaid pending application, endless screen-conveyers 68 are provided to extend transversely across different compartments of the tank underneath the sets of jet-pipes-thcrein to catch and carry oif the labels and dirt washed from the bottles. Such conveyors are pro vided in three successive compartments of the present machine, but .are shorter than the former ones and of different construction; and they are arranged to work through openings 69 in the sides of the three tankcompilrtments presented in Fig. 2 and are covered by a downwardly-inclined chute 70 on the tank-side and through which these conveyorsdischarge the matter they intercept out of the machine. A drive-shaft 7] (Fig. 11), shown to be formed of coupled longitudinal sections, is journaled in bearings to extend in the chute transversely thereof and is geared at its outer end to the vided in the chute to cause the arms to in cline slightly in a downward direction from the chute through an opening 69 into the tank. The outer end of each sidearm is formedwith a head 77, through which the shaft 71 passes, and it is provided with a longitudinal slot 78 in its inner end, in which Works a set-screw 79 for the purpose hereinafter explained. The shaft 71 carries, loosely, adjacent to the inner side of each arm 7a, a sprocket S0 confined between collars on the shaft; and in the slotted ends of each pair of the arms is non-rotatably supported at its ends a shaft 81, in which a set-screw 79 works and which carries near its ends, loosely confined upon it between collarc, sprockets 80 like those on the shaft .71 and forming pairs therewith. Endless chains (Fig. 15) 82 extend about the pairs of sprockets, and alternate links of the chains are provided with inwardly-project ing tongues 83. The screen for each conveyer is sectional, being formed of a series of rectangular frames 8% covered with wirescreening 85, and each section is riveted through opposite ends of its frame to opposite tongues 83 on the pair of conveyerchains; and the section merely rests on the next succeeding pair of tongues.

The described construction of the conveyers 68 greatly increases their elfectiveness and facilitatesrepairing them, since wear on any part of the screen that would otherwise render the entire conveyer useless merely requires the removal of the worn section and its replacement by a whole one. If the chains 82 require adjustment this may be elfected by properly turning the setscrews 7 9 to move the shafts 81.

In the operation of the machine by the driving action of the motor 27, all as set forth in my said former application, the gear-connections with the motor-shaft of the shafts at and '(1 continuously drive the conveyers 68 while intermittently driving the conveyer 25 equipped with the bottleholders. Labels and dirt washed from the bottles fall upon a pair of oppositely-inclined tables 86 and 87 (Fig. supported to extend below and across the bottleconveyer above the compartments equipped with conveyers 68, and overlap each other over the receiving ends of the screen-com,

veyers to there discharge thereon. A spraypipe 88 provided with deflecting shields 89 is supported in the chute to extend lengthwise of the outer ends of the conveyers 68, whereby in turning their sectional screens, the undermostsections at their outer ends, as represented in Fig. 3, before being turned about the shaft 71, are presented bottom upward to the spray from the pipe 88, which is directed against them in a sheet by the deflectors 89 and keeps the screens clean. The washing-water for this purpose comes from the manifold connection at32 (Fig. '7) of the last tankco111partment through a branch 32 connected with the pipe 89, which contains a regulating valve 90 at the junction. The hydrantwater which performs the final rinsing runs into this last compartment, and instead of overflowing thence immediately into the sewer and being wasted, the apparatus is so arranged that the respective pump utilizes justabout that quantity for thus cleaning the screens, thereby effecting a material saving in water, the hydrant-water being caused'to perform the two functions of rinsing the bottles and thereafter washing the screens.

To intercept foreign matter in the water passed through the pumps against reaching and clogging the nozzles of the spray-pipes 35, a peculiar construction of strainer 91 (Figs. 3, l and 5) is interposed in each discharge-pipe 31 leading from a pump. This strainer is constructed to adapt it to be readily taken apart for cleaning it and as readily put together. It comprises a cylindrical chamber 92 closed by a cap 93 on its outer end, with a curved passage 9- extending upwardly from its opposite end and terminating in a nipple 9& for connection with the pipe 31, a similar lower nipple 95 being also provided for a like purpose. In the chamber 92 is seated, at the inner end of the latter-and in the cap 93, a tubular screen 96. The washing-water from a pump fills the chamber 92 surrounding the screen and flows through the latter,-relieved of its contained foreign matter, on its way to a header 33.

Minor features of the machine that may be mentioned, since they are illustrated, are covered ports at 97 on one side of the tank through which to introduce the chemical for producing a suitable solution of the washingwater; windows 98 on opposite sides of the tank-compartments, through which to inspect the working of the interior mechanisms, and windows on the outer side of the chute, one of which-is indicated at 99 on Fig. 3 as being supported by a hingeconnection at 100 with the top of the chute.

I reserve the right to claim, in future applications for Letters Patent, the inventions herein shown and described relating to the adjustment of the jet-pipes relative to each other, to the screeirconveyer construction for catching and removing labels and dirt washed from the bottles, and to thesetting device for the endless chainsconveyer.

Whatl claim as new and desire to secure by LettersP-atent is- 1. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a tank, a track, a bottle-conveyer supported on the track to travel over the tank, a set of jet-pipes comprising a manifold divided into washing and rinsing wawater to one manifold-chamber, means it, means for supplying washingfor supplying rinsing water to the other manifold-chamber, a screen-conveyer working in the tank below said pipes, and a sprayingpipe supported to discharge against the screen-conveyer and having a supply-pipe connecting it with said Washing-water supplying-means. 2. In a bottle-washing machine, the'eombination of a tank, a track, a bottle-conveyer supported on the track to travel over the tank, a set of jet-pipes supported to extend below the track, means for supplying washingwater to said pipes, a screenconveyer working in the tank below said pipes, and a pair of tables inclining downwardly toward each other in the tank below said pipes and lapping one another to discharge at the receiving end of the screenconveyer.

p 3. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a tank containing a side-opening, a track, a bottle-eonveyer supported on i the track to travel over the tank, a set of ing from I bination of a tank containing a omage jet-pipes supported to extend below the track, means for supplying washing-water to said pipes, a discharge-chute on at said opening, and a screen-conveyer working through said pipes to catch labels and dirt washed from the bottles and discharge the same into said chute.

4:. In a bottle-washing machine, the comside-opening, a track, a bottle-conveyer supported on the track totravel over the tank, a set of jetpipes supported to extend below the track, means for supplying washing-water to said pipes, a discharge-chute on the tank at said opening, a screen-conveyer working through said opening to catch labels and dirt washed from the-bottles and discharge the same into said chute, and a shieldequipped spray-pipe supported in the chute to discharge against the screen-conveyer.

JOHN T. H. PAUL la the presence of J G. ANDERSON, .WILLIAM T. Jonas.

the tank opening below the 

